Hello survivors. Here’s the latest from the workshop with me, your intrepid reporter, Pat_Bren.

With almost 200,000 subscribers between their weapon and armour mods, Brita and Arsenal[26] have built two of PZ’s most popular mods of all time. Both add new layers of complexity to combat, and the weapon mod especially leans into giving so many options you almost feel like you’re getting a full military training just by playing with it.

The armour mod adds a long list of military and law enforcement helmets, headsets, backpacks, body armour, and camouflage suits to fit all your gameplay (and military roleplay!) needs. It even includes night vision goggles: a great gadget to have on those dark Kentucky nights.

Brita’s Weapons adds even more goodies, with literally hundreds of new weapons and dozens of accessories. The weapons range in space and time, from Soviet World War 2 sniper rifles, Wild West revolvers and the classic Thompson SMG, to crossbows, automatic shotguns, and even horde-eliminating grenade launchers and miniguns. You really need to know your stripper clips from your ammo belts to make the best use of everything!

While the emphasis is on realism, the mods also give more options to roleplaying. Find a bowtie and a Walther PPK and pretend to be a secret agent, a fedora and a Tommy gun and be a gangster, or a cowboy hat and an old revolver to evoke the Wild West.

In addition to all this good stuff, new functionality has been added to the weapon system thanks to Arsenal[26]. A new aiming cursor and approximate bullet count display help you make the most of your new guns, lets you bash enemies with your rifle or use a bayonet, adds weapon attachment functionality, and changes or adds other things like shooting from a vehicle, reloading, and suppressors.

We headed to Brita and Arsenal[26]’s military bunker, where they have taken time away from field-stripping their rifles and adjusting their scopes to answer some questions about their mods!

Meet Brita

(Please note irl Brita is not a cat.)

Who are you in real life? Tell us a little about yourself – we have already told everyone that you’re not a cat.

“I’m a university student who’s learning 3D modelling. I like painting, cats (especially my cat Katten!), and guns!”

How did you first discover Project Zomboid? Why do you like it?

“I discovered PZ back in 2014, when I was looking for a survival game to play with my friends. With so many options – killing or avoiding zombies, collecting supplies from abandoned homes, exploring a huge map – it felt like I was surviving in the real world!”

When did you start making your mods? How long have you spent making them? How have they changed and developed over time?

“It’s been about a year and two months since I released the first version of my gun mod. Back then, there were many parts that were sloppy, but now the quality has improved. I’m modelling all the guns myself, and textures are hand-painted. It takes about an hour to complete each gun.”

“When I first made the armor mod, I had trouble with rigging and bones, but in the end I figured it all out!”

You collaborate on your weapons and armour mods with Arsenal[26]. How did you meet them? Which part of the mods are theirs and which are yours?

“Arsenal[26] first contacted me about code for gun suppressors. I soon discovered he’s a coding wizard, so he works his magic on all the code, while I make all the models and textures.”

Your weapons mod contains dozens of new weapons from all across the world and from different time periods. How do you decide which weapons to include? Are there any weapons/features you’d like to include but haven’t been able to?

“Mostly, I just love guns with cool designs. If I see a gun I like, I make it right away. I’m making (or plan to make) a lot of guns that other users are requesting, such as a rocket launcher, a heavy machine gun, a flintlock gun, and even a chainsaw model. A flame thrower and a grenade launcher are also on the way!”

Do you have a favourite weapon/piece of armour from your mods? Where should a new player start? What are some good loadouts you would recommend for different types of players (stealthy players, players looking to eliminate hordes etc.)?

“I like any AK gun along with a Gorka jacket. For stealth, we recommend a gun with an integrated suppressor (ASVAL, VSS, MP5SD) to drop zombies quietly. For users who want to deal with the horde, we recommend automatic shotguns with a drum magazine (AA12, USAS) that will make mincemeat of them. Lastly, I recommend a bolt or lever-action gun to anyone who can’t get enough of the beautiful gun sounds and clicks!”

Is there anyone in the PZ community (or beyond) you would like to give a shout-out to? Which mods or maps by other users do you enjoy or find interesting?

“Firstly, I want to say thank you to Arsenal[26] for working with me! Thanks also to the users who play our mod, especially those on the DC Inside PZ user gallery.

[Pat_Bren Ed. note: DC Inside is a popular Korean bulletin board, previously mentioned in our Daegu article]”

“For maps, I recommend Raven Creek and Fort Redstone. If you want to find lots of our equipment and weapons, you’ll find them in those maps!”

What’s next in your modding plans? What’s the dream?

“Of course, I want to make more firearms, weapons, armors, and clothes, but if I get a chance, I want to make a vehicle mod, along with a Silent Hill-style map!”

Meet Arsenal[26]

Who are you in real life? Tell us a little about yourself.

“I’m an old school gamer who always ends up customizing anything I get into, from motorcycles, to guns, to video games. I’ve been shooting since I was old enough to pick up a BB-gun. In PZ terms, I’m probably level 5 Aiming, and level 4 Reloading. My first computer was a TI-99/4A, I ride a Kawasaki ZX-7R, and the fastest I’ve gone is 152mph!”

How did you first discover Project Zomboid? Why do you like it?

“I needed a game that would run on my potato PC and I’ve always enjoyed open world games and zombie/disaster/apocalyptic movies, so PZ fit the bill on all counts!”

Which parts of the weapon and armour mods are Brita’s, and which are yours?

“Brita’s Weapon Pack is an ambitious effort to bring firearms from all nations, from popular to interesting and obscure, into this wonderful game. There are no words to properly recognise the treasure that is Brita’s Weapon Pack, and I programmed the included GunFighter mod.”

“My scripts add new functions like weapon lights that throw light only when aimed, bayonets, different magazine types, alternate reloading, folding stocks, attached grenade launchers, flame weapons with fuel source attached to your back, and more!”

When did you first get into contact with Brita? How has it been working with them?

“It’s been over a year since we started collaborating. Brita is the best! We speak different languages and live in far off time zones, but we work with little difficulty. We have a mutual respect, and overall the mod(s) are pretty evenly yoked.”

How did you get into PZ modding? Do you have a lot of experience in coding?

“My first stab at a PZ mod came shortly after the Animations Update. It basically just prevented the character from moving around when interacting with inventory items.”

“My first experience in modding was searching for hexadecimal money values in save files on my Apple-IIe, and changing them to FFFF. I also played around with the old open source Quake-C in the ’90s.”

“Then not much, until PZ came along. Lots of hours in Excel have helped me create utilities for the calculations of the weapon stats, and export pre-formatted chunks to make working on it less tedious.”

Do you have a favourite weapon/piece of armour from the mods, or a favourite loadout?

“As my name implies, I’m fond of the Arsenal[26] SKS, a Chinese rifle based on a no-nonsense, reliable, and inexpensive Russian model. If I could bring only one gun to survive a real life zombie outbreak, it would be an SKS with pockets full of 7.62x39mm ammunition, a bayonet, and a quart of 10W-30 motor oil!”

“My favourite armor piece is the Survival Bushcraft Backpack, because it goes perfectly with a pair of Light Mountain boots in brown leather.”

“If I’m starting a new character, I look for low-recoil, small caliber, heavy weighted weapons with long sight radius and a stock. Those are the things which make a firearm easier to fire and hit what you are aiming at.”

Is there anyone in the PZ community (or beyond) you would like to give a shout-out to? Which mods or maps by other users do you enjoy or find interesting?

“Thanks, firstly, to Brita for the gift of your skill and craft! You never cease to amaze. I also never imagined so many players would pick up what I’m putting down, so thanks to all the subscribers, and of course you guys at TIS for the original gift, the game itself!”

“ModOptions, authored by star, is required for GunFighter. I met star when I was working on one of my first mods, and he sent me a message saying, “I’m here to help fix your mod, and I don’t need credit.” Sorry star, I can’t [not] give you credit for this one!”

“Other mods that I run all the time are: Filibuster’s Used Cars, Paw Low Loot, DavidBlane’s Raven Creek, FenrisWolf’s ProfessionFrameWork, and kurtus_mob’s USMC Armory.

I also enjoy Nolan Ritchie’s SuperbSurvivors – though that’s not compatible with Build 41 right now.

What’s next in your modding plans? What’s the dream?

“There are a lot of ideas kicking around and I’m not sure which will be next. I have, however, been dropping hints on the GunFighter page of what one of them may be!”

“The dream is, of course, chilling in the salon of a catamaran anchored off the coast of some tropical beach, far away from all the zombies!”

Thanks to Brita and Arsenal[26] for taking time to answer our questions! You can subscribe to Brita’s Weapon Pack mod here and Brita’s Armor Pack mod here.